Attempts by the John Howard Society to relieve fears surrounding a proposed halfway house forged headlong into a difficult crowd Tuesday evening, with some area residents remaining firmly opposed to the facility being built near their communities.
For several years, the society has sought a new location for the halfway house, and has settled on a property in the Manchester industrial area in southeast Calgary.
The society held an information session Tuesday night at the site to speak with locals about the proposal.
Construction of a new facility at that location will depend on whether the society gets the nod from city council. But the society is also facing a series of concerns from nearby residents, worried that such a concentration of parolees poses safety issues in their communities.
Derrick Hunter, who has three young children and lives in Elboya, notes the halfway house will be not far from Stanley Park.
"I find it personally shocking that they would even suggest putting a facility like this so close to Stanley Park and Elboya," he said. "My kids are there at those parks all the time."
But once a halfway house is put in a community, locals tend to change their minds and become supportive of the facility, according to the executive director of Calgary’s John Howard Society.
Gordon Sand said it’s been difficult to find a new location, and a tough decision to build in an industrial area, given the organization tries to reintegrate offenders into society.
He said the proposed facility is a long way from Stanley Park, and farther from residential areas than most halfway houses. Finding vacant property not close to schools or parks is tough in Calgary.
"It’s very hard to address all the concerns that were presented to us," he said.
But those concerns remain. Some are worried not just about their children but also about their own safety. The halfway house will be near the 39th Avenue LRT station, the same one Tania Stearn said she uses.
"I work shift work. I wouldn’t feel comfortable, even 10, 11 o’clock at night, waiting for the train knowing it’s so close to this facility," she said.
Other residents said this is not a matter of "not in my backyard." They note the Calgary Dream Centre, a drug addiction facility, and a women’s shelter are in the area.
The aldermen for the industrial area and the residential neighbourhoods said they haven’t decided whether they approve of the project.
The John Howard Society’s existing halfway house, Bedford House, is in Victoria Park. But it must move as the land has been expropriated. That facility offers 22 beds. The new facility could have a capacity of 40.
The society is making a rezoning application to construct the new facility on Builders Road S.E., and city officials have recommended approving the action. It goes to the Calgary Planning Commission, and the final decision will be made by council in July.
The society said no resident of the Bedford House has committed a crime in Victoria Park in the 25 years the facility has been in that community.
It also said the Calgary police have no concerns about the number of calls to the facility: there are, on average, two or three calls a month, most dealing with administrative infractions such a breach of conditions.
Sand said while the halfway house will take criminals convicted of serious crimes, including pedophiles, it decides who it will accept.
"Risk is our major determining factor," he said.
"Any pedophile or sex offender who was violent, who was deemed to be . . . a high risk to reoffend, we wouldn’t take."
rcuthbertson@theherald. canwest.com
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